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LWVUS Board and staff will be training some 30 League leaders from 9 states in Houston, TX on Friday, April 13 until Sunday, April 15, 2012. The training will bring together individuals who have volunteered to be state coaches as part of the Membership and Leadership Development (MLD) program, funded by the Fund for Local League Growth.

The League of Women Voters of Ames hosted Chief Justice Mark Cady of the Iowa Supreme Court for a free public discussion of "Choosing and Keeping the Best Possible Judges" on Thursday, March 22, 2012, at the Northminster Presbyterian Church in Ames. Justice Cady addressed the 78 people in attendance on the “fundamental concept of judicial independence” as he explained the founding fathers’ vision of the American judicial branch, emphasizing the need to insulate judges from political influence. Justice Cady focused on the process of selecting and retaining judges in the Iowa judicial system, proposed changes to this system and their possible effects, and the fallout from the 2010 retention elections.

The League of Women Voters of Black Hawk/Bremer Counties, Iowa, hosted a community conversation on February 28, 2012, on the topic of "why merit selection of judges is good for Iowa." The panel featured Justice Bruce Zager of the Iowa Supreme Court; K.O. Myers, Director of Research and Programs for the American Judicature Society; and Scott Peters, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa. Panelists covered the structure and function of the Iowa courts, the history of merit selection of judges in Iowa, and the recent Varnum ruling's impact on the 2010 retention election. The conversation was free and open to the public.